Detachable closure



w. R. POWERS DETACHABLE CLOSURE Filed Sept. 27, 1954 April 22, 1958 I N V EN TOR. Mu MM A. Pan 5&9

ATfOK/YEV United States Patent DETACHABLE CLOSURE William R. Powers, South Plainfield, N. J., assignor to Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 27, 1954, Serial No. 458,626 4 Claims. (Cl. 220-27) This invention relates to closures, particularly to secondary closures for receptacles containing highly evaporable fluid material, such as ether, and has for its primary object to provide a supplemental closure that will effectively reseal the receptacle after it has been opened and a portion of the contents removed therefrom.

It has been customary heretofore, as far as applicant is aware, to reseal the initial opening made in the primary closure of the receptacle wtih a cork stopper as a secondary closure. For example, there are occasions when a one-quarter pound can of ether for anesthesia may be used during a successive number of surgical operations. This necessitates a detachable, secondary closure on the opened can for a short period of time, usually not greater than ten hours, after which any of the ether remaining in the can is discarded. However, fragments of the cork stopper tend to break off during removal of the stopper from the can and these fragments contaminate the ether with consequent loss of use thereof.

It is, therefore, another object of the invention to overcome the above disadvantages and provide an improved flexible stopper that can be used to reseal an opened receptacle as often as desired without contaminating the remaining contents therein.

It is still another object of the invention to provide for a container a flexible, secondary cap that can be readily removed and replaced thereon.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a closure which is readily fabricated at low cost.

Other and further objects will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with the invention, the foregoing objects are accomplished by providing a supplemental or secondary closure for a receptacle having a primary closure comprising a hollow, cylindrical member open at its lower end and formed with a flat upper surface, a side wall depending therefrom, a transverse Wall extending outwardly from said side wall intermediate the upper surface and a lower edge of the side wall, so as to form a downwardly extending flange within the member for sealing engagement with the primary closure, a second side wall depending from the outer edge of the transverse wall, and an internal bead formed at the lower edge of the second wall for peripheral engagement with a side wall of the primary closure.

A more complete understanding of the invention will be obtained from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a top plan view of ondary closure of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line a receptacle with a secof the receptacle shown 3-3 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows illustrating detailed construction of the upper portion of a receptacle showing the primary closure pierced for removal of contents therefrom and the secondary closure in sealing position over the primary closure; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, elevational view, partly in section, of the receptacle of Fig. 2 showing detailed construction of the primary closure and without superposition of the secondary closure.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown a receptacle or can 10, preferably of metal, having a top surface 11 provided at its center with an opening 12 around which is rigidly secured, as by solder, a substantially cylindrical discharge spout 13 having an enlarged portion 14 in the form of a flange or bead at its free or discharging end.

After the receptacle is filled with the required fluid material (not shown), such for example as ether, a primary closure 15 is placed over the open end of the spout 13, particularly over the bead'14, to effectively seal the contents, which are highly evaporative, within the receptacle. As seen in Fig. 4, the primary closure comprises an inner cap member 16, preferably of lead which is readily pierced, having a closed, dome shaped top 17, a side wall 18 depending from the top 17, a transverse wall 19 extending outwardly from the lower edge of the wall 18, and a depending skirt 21, initially cylindrical, but shown conforming with the bead 14 of the receptacle 10. Around the cap member 16 is disposed a ring 22, preferably of stronger material than the cap 16 such as tinplated steel, or similar metal, or the same material from which the receptacle is made, having an upper opening bounded by a peripheral edge 23 that terminates just short of the side wall 18, a flat upper surface 24, an arcuate shoulder 25, and a depending skirt 26 that is initially cylindrical.

In assembling the primary closure 15 to the spout 13 pressure crimping means are applied thereto, so that, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, the closure 15, including skirts 21 and 26, conforms to the arcuate shape of the spout 13, including particularly the bead 14. However, in the crimping operation it is to be noted that ridges 27 are formed around the periphery along the concave portion of the skirt 26, thereby resulting in an irregular surface. This irregular surface presents a difiicult problem in providing an effective seal over the primary closure, after it has been punctured for removal of some of the contents.

However, as seen in Fig. 3, the problem of ridges 27 and consequent irregular peripheral surface has been solved by the secondary closure 28 of this invention. In Fig. 3 the primary closure 15 is shown with its dome shaped top 17 pierced, as by any suitable instrument, the lead material being readily punctured, with portions thereof pushed downwardly. The secondary closure 28, which is preferably of plastic material, such as polyethylene, comprises a generally flat top surface 29, a vertical side wall 31 depending from the peripheral edge of the top 29, a transverse wall 32 extending outwardly from the side wall 31 intermediate the top and bottom edges of the side wall, whereby a downwardly ext-ending flange 33 interiorly of the closure 28 is provided for sealing engagement with the flat upper surface 25 of the ring 22. Also shown is a second vertical side wall 34 depending from the outer edge of the transverse wall 32 and having at its lower peripheral edge an inner bead 36 for engagement with the skirt 26 and an outer head 37 for stiffening lated. However, in operation the secondary closure 28, which is of the snap type, is placed over the primary closure 15 initially, that is, prior to shipment of the filled receptacle. -It is to be noted that in prior practice it was customary to:enclose.the cork stopper vinta glassinewvrapper and package both items as a single-unit. Thus, besides the disadvantage of the cork particles the'secondary closure of this invention has also eliminated a prior packaging problem. .It is to be noted that the sealing action of this invention is effective at the engagement between the flange 33 and surface 24 of the primary closure 15 and that the pressure applied by flange 33 to surface 24 is increased bythe downwardly acting .force of the inner bead 36 pressing into the concave portion of the skirt 26, as readily seen in Fig. 3. Also, the outer bead 37 accentuates the inwardly acting force of the head 36 to provide an improved and efficient detachable closure for receptacles containing highly evaporative material.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matters are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

l. A container comprising, in combination, a body having a discharge spout at one end thereof; an enlarged portion formed at an open end of said spout; hollow closure means including a depending skirt with a closed upper end disposed over said spout, said skirt being crimped around said enlarged portion to seal said container; and a detachable closure disposed over said first closure; said detachable closure comprising a skirt having an inner, annular bead at its lower extremity in pressure contact with said first skirt, and a vertical, depending flange in line seal engagement with said upper end of said closure means.

2. A container comprising, in combination, a body having a substantially cylindrical discharge spout at one end thereof; an enlarged portion formed at an open end of said spout; hollow, meta] closure mean including a depending skirt with a closed upper end and an open lower end disposed over said spout, said skirt being crimped around said enlarged portion to provide a seal for said container; and a detachable closure disposed over said first closure; said detachable closure comprising a skirt having an inner, annular head at its lower extremity in pressure contact with said first skirt, and a vertical, depending flange in line seal engagement with said upper end of said closure means.

3. A container comprising, in combination, a body having a substantially cylindrical discharge spout at one end thereof; an enlarged portion formed at an open end of said spout; a hollow, soft metal element having an upper cap portion and an open lower end disposed over said enlarged portion, an annular member encircling an intermediate portion of said element; said member being crimped around saidelement to provide a seal for said container andhaving spaced ridges thereon, and a detachable closure disposed over said element and member, said detachable closure comprising a skirt having an inner, annular bead at its lower extremity in pressure contact with said crimped ring, and a vertical, depending flange in line seal engagement with an upper surface of said cap portion.

4. A container closure construction, comprising a container for ether having a discharge opening defined by a convex, closure receiving head, a closure for seating said opening including a cap portion, a skirt or soft metal, and a ring around said skirt of harder metal than that of said skirt adaptedto be crimped over said bead, said cap portion being adapted to be punctured for removal of some of said contents from said container, whereby said punctured cap portion and skirt remain on said container, a second closure of polyethylene material disposed over said first closure, said second closure comprising a flat top, a vertical wall depending from a peripheral edge of said top, a transverse wall extending from said side wall intermediate said top and bottom edge of said side wall, whereby said bottom edge of said first side wall forms a downwardly extending flange within said second closure for sealing engagement with said cap portion, a side wall depending from said transverse wall for disposition around said skirt, and an internal bead formed at a lower edge of said second side wall for compressed engagement with said crimped ring.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 260,432 Walsh July 4, 1882 1,093,735 Shapiro Apr. 21, 1914 1,435,214 Coombs Nov. 14, 1922 2,003,025 Westerbeck May 28, 1935 2,573,552 Detzel Oct, 20, 195i 2,601,040 Livingstone June 17, 1952 2,661,128 Rieke Dec. 1, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 458,541 Great Britain Dec. 22, 1936 1,013,553 France Apr. 30, 1952 

